Yan Zhaowang (Ji Zhi)
After mengchang was removed from his position, King min of Qi, together with Chu and Wei, destroyed the state of song and became even more arrogant. He was bent on annexing other countries and becoming the son of heaven himself. As a result, all the princes were dissatisfied with him; In particular, the state of Yan, to the north of the state of Qi, was bullied by the state of Qi and wanted to seek revenge.
Yan was also a big country. Later, it was transferred to King Ku à I of Yan. After listening to the bad guys’ ideas, he learned the legendary method of Yao and Shun abdicating the throne to the son of the prime minister. The general of the state of Yan and the crown prince attacked Zizhi, and there was a riot in the state of Yan. In the name of calming the civil strife in the state of Yan, the state of Qi invaded the state of Yan, which was almost destroyed. Later, the army and people of the state of Yan made the crown prince Ping the monarch, rose up and kicked out the army of the state of Qi.
Prince Ping ascended the throne and was king Yan Zhao. He was determined to make the state of Yan strong and determined to look for talents to govern the country, but he couldn’t find the right one. Someone reminded him that the old minister Guokai ? i) Very knowledgeable. I might as well go to him to discuss it.
King Yan Zhao visited Guo Kai personally and said to him, “I can’t forget the humiliation of Qi invading us while our country was in civil strife. But now Yan is weak and can’t take revenge. If there is a sage to help me take revenge, I’d rather serve him. Can you recommend such a talent?”
Guo Kai touched his beard, pondered for a while and said, “I can’t tell if I want to recommend ready-made talents. Please allow me to tell a story first.” Then he told a story:
In ancient times, there was a monarch who loved Qianlima most. He sent people everywhere to look for it, but they couldn’t find it for three years. A courtier heard that there was a valuable thousand mile horse somewhere in the distance, so he told the emperor that if he was given a thousand liang of gold, he would be able to buy the horse back. The king was very happy, so he sent his Chamberlain to buy a thousand liang of gold. I didn’t expect the Chamberlain to be there. Qianlima has died of illness. The Chamberlain thought that it was hard to explain when he went back with empty hands, so he took out half of the gold he had brought and bought the horse bones.
The courtier presented the horse bones to the emperor. The emperor was furious and said, “what I want you to buy is a live horse. Who told you to spend money to buy the useless horse bones?” The courtier said calmly, “I heard that you are willing to spend money on dead horses. I’m afraid no one will send the live horses.”
The monarch was skeptical and no longer blamed his courtiers. As soon as the news spread, everyone thought that the monarch loved his horse. Within a year, several thousand kilometer horses were sent from all directions.
Guo Kai finished the story and said, “Your Majesty must ask for talents. You might as well try me as a horse bone.”
After hearing this, King Yan Zhao was greatly inspired. After returning home, he immediately sent someone to build a very exquisite house for Guo Kai to live in and worship him as a teacher. Talented people from all over the world heard that King Yan Zhao sincerely invited talents, and rushed to the state of Yan to see him. One of the most famous is Le Yi, a zhaoguoren. The king of Yan Zhao, baileyi, was Yaqing. He asked him to rectify the country’s politics and train troops. As expected, the state of Yan became stronger and stronger day by day.
At this time, King Yan Zhao saw that king Qi Min was arrogant and unpopular, so he said to Leyi, “now that king Qi is unjust, it is time for us to shed our shame. I plan to mobilize the whole country to fight the state of Qi. What do you think?”
Leyi said, “Qi has a vast territory and many people. I’m afraid we can’t rely on one country to fight. If your majesty wants to attack Qi, he must unite with other countries.”
King Yanzhao sent Leyi to Zhao to meet King zhaohuiwen. He also sent people to contact Han and Wei, and asked Zhao to contact Qin. These countries dislike the hegemony of Qi and are willing to send troops with Yan.
In 284 B.C., King baileyi of Yanzhao was the supreme general, commanding the troops of the five countries and killing the state of Qi.
When King Qimin heard that the Allied forces of the five countries were coming, he was also in a panic. He gathered all his troops to resist the Allied forces and fought a battle in the west of Jishui. Because Leyi was good at commanding, the morale of the people of the five countries was strong, and the Qi army was completely defeated. King min of Qi fled back to Linzi.
The soldiers of Zhao, Han, Qin and Wei won the war and occupied several cities of the state of Qi. They did not want to fight any more. Only Leyi refused to give up. He personally led the army of the state of Yan and marched into Linzi, the capital of the state of Qi. King Qimin had to run away and was killed in Jucheng.
King Yanzhao thought that Leyi had made great contributions. He went to the border of Jishui to work in person and rewarded Leyi for his meritorious service. He made Leyi king of Chang.